


Aimer

by electricdino



Category: GOT7
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-30
Updated: 2015-05-30
Packaged: 2018-04-01 23:59:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4039654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electricdino/pseuds/electricdino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>JB was no stranger to detention, but never before had one involved becoming the lead in a musical.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aimer

**Author's Note:**

> The musical I chose is one of my personal favourites, and can be watched [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi21XHWV0D4), it comes with subs for various languages but you might need to select it from the menu.

> (cross-posted to [aff](http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/961353/) and [livejournal](http://electricdino.livejournal.com/22121.html))

Rage. All Jaebum was feeling was pure unadulterated rage. How dare that prick try and prank him. Did he have a death wish or something? But then again... it was Jackson Wang, school prankster and student, who was known not to really put any effort into his school work. Not that Jaebum could talk. He was so close to just dropping out altogether.

He had never been overly fond of school, his passions taking him on a different path, or had started to. That had all changed when his little sister became ill though. She had developed some rare illness that nobody really knew what it was, and as such there was no cure. And Jaebum had found himself turning his dreams away from dancing and back onto graduating. He might not be able to get the best grades possible, but he would at least be set up for the future. Because in his eyes... with the chance that his sister wasn't going to be able to complete schooling herself, then he would do it for her. That was the only reason that he stuck around this stupid place.

That vow was frequently put in jeopardy, though, by Jaebum's temper. He was very short tempered and didn't know how to deal with it other than with harsh words and his fists. Something that Jackson seemed to have forgotten by targeting him for his most recent prank. A prank which had resulted in Jaebum being absolutely soaking wet, and a water pistol being broken into numerous pieces on the ground.

Did Jackson seriously not expect him to react in such a negative way? He was Im Jaebum, his temper was well known. Of course he was going to shout at the younger before taking a swing at him. It came as no surprise to anyone that he reacted as such, the other students around them not really batting an eye. They did pay attention though when Jackson retaliated, his voice just as loud and his arms being thrown out to his sides, almost as if he was persuading the other to take a shot at him. "Come on man, it was just a joke. Lighten up."

" _Lighten up_... I am soaking wet, you ass. And I still have classes this afternoon." Jaebum growled, his left eye twitching in anger. He was going to blow, and very soon at that. He doubted that Jackson saw the danger though. He never did. Jackson was someone who didn't think before doing or saying anything. Something which was known to get him into trouble frequently.

And just as expected, the younger simply laughed, throwing his head back and gifting the forming circle of spectators a wide view of the inside of his mouth. "Not my problem, man. And besides... it's just water, it will dry. It's not like I used food colouring or dye or anything, which I was planning to by the way."

"I swear to god, Jackson, if you don't shut up, I'm going to make you."

"Why? I didn't say anything wrong. Stop getting yourself so worked up, Im." Jackson said, shaking his head with a smug smirk on his face. "It was just a joke. Seriously. You need to get a grip on that temper of yours."

"Jackson... stop. Let's just go." Another voice piped up then, one of Jackson's friends who, by the seems of it, was trying to stop his friend from getting his face bashed in. Good call. Because if the prankster didn't shut up and soon then no way was Jaebum going to be able to stop himself from lashing out.

Unfortunately it didn't seem like Jackson was willing to listen, as he shook his head levelling Jaebum with another infuriating smirk. "No, Jinyoung. Not until Jaebum, here, apologises for breaking my water pistol. That thing cost money you know."

Was he being serious? Was he seriously expecting Jaebum to apologise to him? It was almost laughable. And Jaebum would have thrown his head back and let out a deep belly laugh if he wasn't so fuming angry. Instead he scoffed, shaking his head in denial. "No chance. You shouldn't have pranked me in the first place."

The crowd around them was beginning to grow in numbers as other people realised that a fight was likely about to break out. Jackson's friend, Jinyoung he thought his name was, was looking anxiously between the two. That was almost... cute. But also not important. Jackson and his stupid smug face was the immediate problem that he had to deal with and soon.

Said smug face was drawing closer to Jaebum, and the older boy grit his teeth to stop himself from growling in annoyance. Jackson seriously had a death wish or something. The younger was walking closer to him, deliberately trying to rile him up, and unfortunately... Jaebum's hold on his temper was growing increasingly thinner with every word that left the other's smart-ass mouth. "It's not my fault if you can't take a joke, _hyung_." He said, his tone of voice turning mocking.

"You are walking on very thin ice, Wang." Jaebum did growl this time, his expression dark as he glared at the shorter student. "You might want to listen to that friend of yours and go away."

Jackson just laughed again as he continued his approach, not stopping until he was all up in the older's face. "What's the problem? Did my little stunt put a dent in your ego?" He spat, smug smile still plastered across his face. "You ain't all that, Im. You don't own this place. It's about time you got over yourself."

Jaebum really wanted to punch that smug smile right off of the shorter's face... and that was exactly what he did as he raised his fist and swung it at the other, smirking himself in satisfaction as his knuckles impacted with Jackson's face. That would serve him right for being such a smart-alec. That prick needed to learn a lesson, and that lesson was not to prank those students who were senior to him, and not to be so irritating and rude. He had had this coming for a long time.

If Jaebum was being honest, he had been after a good fight for a while now. It was the best way to release his emotions and stress, and he frequently could be found looking for a fight when he needed said release. Just, this time, he didn't need to look far since the perfect opportunity practically delivered itself at his feet. And with Jackson being Jackson, he of course was going to fight back.

Too bad he wasn't as skilled at fighting as Jaebum was, seeing as the older boy managed to duck out of the way of the other's flying fist, and instead sink his own into the prankster's stomach. This was almost too easy. And the groans and pain filled grunts coming from the shorter just brought a sense of happiness and relief to the older student.

He couldn't avoid Jackson's attempts at hitting him forever though, especially not as Jaebum's body grew tired and thus more clumsy. To every three hits that Jaebum managed to get in on the other, Jackson was scoring one of his own in response, but that number was decreasing over time, until it was just a free for all of punches.

The crowd around them was just background noise, a static buzz that did little to encourage or distract the two from fighting. Even with friends of both of them standing there, telling them to stop or cheering them on, the two didn't even acknowledge anyone else's existence, only each other's. They definitely didn't notice as the noise level of the crowd began to drop, the sea of students parting as one of the teachers stormed through towards them.

They only noticed his appearance when they were ripped apart from each other, firm hands grasping their upper arms and a stern voice ordering them to stop. "What do you boys think you are doing? This is a place of learning, not a boxing ring."

With the show now being over, most of the crowd began to drift off, leaving the trio in the middle and a few friends of either boy watching curiously for what was going to happen to their friend. Jaebum looked over to see Yoongi smirking at him, flashing him a thumbs up. The shorter boy was his usual partner in crime when it came to fights, so no doubt he was going to be moaned at later for not waiting for him to arrive before launching himself at Jackson.

"Mr Im, are you listening to me?" The teacher, Mr Lee Changmin, Maths Professor, asked him, shaking him out of his thoughts and bringing Jaebum's attention back to the situation at hand.

"Sorry sir." He simply muttered, purposefully ignoring Jackson's snickering from the other side of their teacher.

"I should think so." Mr Lee muttered before he tightened his grip on the two boys. "Both of you are in serious trouble. Fighting is against the school rules, as you both know. So, I think a meeting with the headmaster is in order. To his office, both of you. Now!" He finished, his words growing in volume until he practically shouted the last.

Great. This was just what Jaebum needed, being sent to the headmaster's office... again. Like he hadn't only recently finished his _last_  lot of detention. Stupid Jackson and his need to deliberately rile him up. He should have seen this coming really.

Ripping himself away from the teacher's hold, Jaebum glared darkly at Jackson before turning and stalking off down the hall. The footsteps behind him indicated that both Wang and their teacher was following after him, but he didn't care. Truthfully he didn't really care about getting in trouble again. No, all he did care about was how soaking wet he still was. His socks had become soggy and every step brought squelches in between his toes. Urgh... how pleasant.

\---

Detention. Of course they were both going to end up in detention. It was expected with how they had broken one of the school rules by fighting in the middle of the hall. Heck, they had been lucky not to get suspended or something. But nope, they only got dealt with a detention. They had fully expected to be told that they would be serving it under Mr Lee's beady eyes in the maths department. He had been the one to catch them fighting after all.

But no. They weren't in the maths department at all. They were far, far from it.

In fact... they were in the drama department.

Walking into the theatre hall, Jaebum looked around before sighing rather loudly, elbowing the shorter boy who had entered the room next to him. "I can't believe you got me into this mess, Wang. I'm holding you solely responsible."

Jackson merely rolled his eyes before clapping the older on the shoulder. "Oh of course, your bad temper has nothing to do with it. Nothing at all." He snorted before letting out a loud bark of laughter. "Lighten up, JB, we got off lightly! We're only going to be, like, painting sets or something else just as simple. Talk about an easy ride." He laughed, the sound echoing across the expanse of the hall.

"Don't call me that." Jaebum muttered, his nose wrinkling at the sudden nickname bestowed on him by the other, as he continued to look around. He had a very bad feeling that the other student had just jinxed them. Surely, the detention wasn't going to be that simple. He had had worse punishments for lesser things here, so no way were they only going to get such a simple task for their detention.

"Mr Im, and Mr Wang, I presume?" An overly jolly voice called out to them, pulling Jaebum's attention back as he turned to face the incoming teacher. Mr Park Jinyoung, head of the entire theatre department, was making his way up the aisles of the seats towards where the two of them were stood by the door. Well, whatever their punishment was really going to be... they were about to find out.

"You got it." Jackson replied, lifting a hand and giving the teacher a jaunty, and probably disrespectful, salute. Jaebum restrained himself from smirking as the shorter only got a vague blink in his direction in response.

"That's us, sir." The older boy replied himself, nodding in affirmative as the theatre head turned to face him instead. He received a much better response as the teacher grinned at him, his own head nodding enthusiastically as he began to usher the two down the steps and aisle. Not having any other choice, Jaebum followed after the teacher, a sense of dread filling his gut.

As batty and barmy as Mr Park was, he was also known to give rather _interesting_  punishments, ones that usually lasted a long time too. And looking around the hall, Jaebum couldn't see anything that might indicate what they were going to be forced into doing. "Follow me, follow me, that's it boys. You can't do anything remaining lurking in a doorway now, can you?" Their teacher laughed, trying to break the clear tension but failing miserably. This was detention after all. And Jaebum was still blaming Jackson for it completely.

Reaching the aisle just in front of the stage, Jaebum expected their teacher to lead them into the backstage area or even out of the hall or something. That didn't happen though. And it was with growing horror that the two boys were ushered up onto the stage. "Quickly, quickly, we don't have all day." Mr Park continued, still acting way more happy than the situation called for.

"Uh... Teach'? What are we exactly going to be doing?" Jackson asked, his voice continuing to echo rather obnoxiously around the room. Did he seriously have to talk so loudly all the time? Talk about irritating.

"It's Mr Park to you, young sir." Their teacher responded holding up a finger and looking sternly to Jackson for a moment before he laughed again and crossed his arms over his chest. "And I was just getting to that. You will be serving your detention with me, as both of you know. However, due to the nature of your rule breaking... you will _not_  just be painting sets or whatever easy task you might have been hoping for."

Jaebum couldn't help but flash the shorter student a look that clearly read 'I told you so'. He knew that they weren't going to get off as easy as the other was hoping. He had had detention too many times before to know what it was like. He focused again though as the theatre head pushed some sheets of paper into his chest before doing the same to Jackson. Looking down at said paper, Jaebum's heart dropped into his stomach... he was currently holding onto a script. "S-sir..." He started, wanting clarification on just what this meant.

Their teacher cut him off, though, already hurrying on to explain. "One at time you will read this script aloud for me, then you will each sing a song, of your own choice of course, and if you wish to show me some of your dancing skills too, that would be fantastic." He said, already turning and making his way back down to the seats.

"Uh... why?" Jackson asked, one eyebrow raised and a clear look of disbelief on his face. Jaebum was feeling the same to be honest, but he also had a very bad feeling. A suspicion. Mr Park wouldn't have just given them these scripts for no reason...

"I would have thought it was obvious, Mr Wang." Their teacher said, turning to face them with another bright grin on his face, once he reached the front row of seats. "You will both be auditioning for our upcoming production. _That_  is how you are going to be serving your detentions this time."

He knew it. As soon as he had seen the script, Jaebum had known that they were going to be forced into taking part. It was so typical. He decides to give up on his dreams of performing and he is then forced into taking part in a whole theatre production. So typical. If he had wanted to be in the show, then he would have auditioned before this. This wasn't fair. He didn't want to. But he had no choice.

This was all Jackson's fault.

\---

If he was being honest, the audition hadn't actually been that bad. He had forced Jackson to go first, allowing him enough time to warm up properly. He couldn't exactly remember the speaking or singing parts, but the dancing? As soon as he had started moving to the music it was like he had been transported back to the years when dancing was his entire life. It was... it was fun.

He still didn't want to be in the show though.

Jaebum didn't even know what the show was, but he didn't want to be in it. He had no choice, however, and he begrudgingly entered the first rehearsal with his hands shoved in his pockets and a look of disinterest painted across his face.

This time, when he entered the theatre hall, he made his way directly to the stage where groups of people were dotted about. So they had all already formed little friendship groups? How very... unsurprising. But then again, they were probably all friends before hand and just automatically grouped up together.

Jaebum would have nobody to fall back on but himself really, his friends were not exactly the theatre type. There were a few people he recognised as having hung out with him and his friends occasionally, but he couldn't exactly call them much more than acquaintances. Not that he cared. He wasn't here voluntarily after all, and was in no mood to be sociable. He just wanted to get through this rehearsal, and all of the ones succeeding today's, with minimal effort and fuss. And that involved not talking to any of his 'cast mates'.

Just as was about to sit down, silently, by himself at the back of the stage, a loud bark of obnoxious laughter echoed noisily around the hall. It didn't take a genius to work out who that laugh belonged to. The owner was the sole reason that Jaebum was even here in the first place. Looking over, he couldn't stop himself from glaring at Jackson who was sat among a group of his friends, one of which Jaebum recognised as being the kid who had tried to stop them from fighting, Joonyoung or something? Not that it mattered, it was just so predictable that the prankster would have friends in the theatre club.

"Hey Hyung! I didn't know you auditioned for the show." Came a cheerful voice from his side as a body dropped down onto the ground next to where he was sat.

Looking over Jaebum came face to face with one of his 'acquaintances', Park Jimin. He was a sweet kid really, a right bundle of never-ending energy. He joined their group from time to time, mainly due to Hoseok who he had a brotherly type bond with. The kid, though, had taken rather a shine to Yoongi and whenever he did hang out with them, would always try and get the older male to talk to him. It was highly amusing to the rest of them, watching as their friend tried to shake off the excitable 'puppy' that was Jimin.

"I didn't." He answered simply, letting out a mental sigh. As much as he wanted to be alone, he also didn't want to tell Jimin to go away. He had seen what the younger looked like when someone pushed him away and it wasn't something he particularly wanted to see again. And would it _really_  hurt to have someone to talk to here? "I was forced to for my detention."

"Detention?" The younger asked before a look of understanding passed over his face. "Oh, yeah! You were fighting Jackson in the hallway, right? Who won?" Yep, he was definitely someone that hung out with them a little too often.

Lifting his shoulders, Jaebum shrugged gently before gesturing to Jackson and his group of friends. "Well, we're both serving this detention. What do you think?"

He felt a gentle pat on his shoulder, Jimin trying to placate him or something. "Sorry about that, Hyung. It could have been worse though. You could have gotten suspended or expelled or something? And at least you're not here alone. I'll keep you company, Hyung."

There was something so incredibly earnest about Jimin. He tried so hard and Jaebum had to commend him for it. Truthfully he didn't find the younger that bad, none of them did. Even Yoongi who was often the kid's main focal point didn't mind that much when he hung around with them. One of these days they should just adopt him into their group full time, he thought.

Offering a small smile in reply, Jaebum nodded softly. "Thanks Jimin. You might just save me from boredom." He chuckled, before looking around the gathering cast idly once more. "Do you even know what the show is going to be? Mr Park didn't tell us anything when he forced us to audition."

"Afraid not. He's not told anyone anything about the show. So we're all in the same boat." Jimin shrugged, his expression and tone of voice apologetic. "He's not even told us any of the casting yet. So I'm guessing he'll do that today."

"He sure does have a flair for dramatics, huh?" Jaebum laughed, shaking his head in mild amusement. It must be something about drama teachers in general or people who work within the performing arts... everyone he had met from that industry all had that same dramatic spark. Even some of his dance teachers had been like that, and he had been learning _hip-hop_  as a dance style.

"That's one way to put it." Jimin replied, his own higher pitched giggles complimenting Jaebum's own. They remained sat there, laughing for a few moments, drawing curious looks from some of the other cast members before they calmed down. Just in time for the theatre head to make his dramatic entrance into the hall, striding up onto the stage, where they were gathered, with a box in his hands.

"Welcome, everyone, to our first rehearsal!" He chirped, throwing his arms out wide in a flourish. "Now, I am sure you are all curious about what show we will be performing, am I correct?" Nobody really responded, but that didn't seem to faze the teacher as he simply continued on, picking up one of the musical scores from the box he had brought with him. "Well, I am pleased to announce that we will be doing an all-male, _obviously_ , adaptation of 'Gérard Presgurvic's Romeo and Juliet'."

His announcement was met with silence, all of the cast simply blinking in confusion at the teacher. The spell was broken by, of course, Jackson who piped up in his typically obnoxious way. "Yo... I thought Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare. Not this Gerald dude..."

"Gérard, Mr Wang, it's pronounced Gérard. And yes, the original _play_  is by William Shakespeare, but Mr Presgurvic took Shakespeare's masterpiece and turned it into a musical _phenomenon_."

A... musical. They were going to be performing a musical? Jaebum couldn't mask his quiet groan as he buried his face into his hands. He had been hoping that the singing and dancing aspects to the audition had just been their teacher making it seem more like a punishment. He had hoped that it didn't mean that they would be forced into a musical. But nope, of course not. Why would Jaebum's wishes come true? A _musical_... and not just any musical but a version of _Romeo and Juliet_. Romance. He hadn't cared about his casting before but now he actually felt nervous.

He missed what Mr Park had said next, too busy mourning his fate with his head in his hands. He was brought back to attention though when Jimin playfully, and gently, hit him with his musical score. "Here you go, Hyung. We're all gonna need these apparently." He said, before he quickly flipped through the pages of his own. The younger let out a low whistle before speaking again. "Wow... that's a lot of songs."

"It's a musical, Jimin, of course there is going to be a lot of songs." Jaebum muttered, already flicking through his own score book. They were doing a male-only version... which was obvious since they were an all-male student school. But this score... there was an awful lot of female roles. They would have to adapt a lot of songs, since Jaebum doubted that any of the guys here could sing exactly like a girl. It was going to be a lot of work. But no doubt the theatre head had it all worked out already. He just had to hope that he hadn't been cast in one of those female roles.

Hearing a loud clap, Jaebum returned his attention back to Mr Park who was looking around the room with an almost predatory glint in his eyes. "Now... casting! I'm sure you are all _desperate_  to know just who you will be playing. Well, right here in this box," He began shaking the box which he had finally picked up from the floor, "are badges. And on those badges are the names of all of the characters and roles in the show. I will be going around each one of you and handing you a badge. That is the role you will be playing. I thought this was much more fun than just a simple piece of paper pinned to the board with the casting on."

This was going to be a long show. If they were going to have to deal with a director such as the theatre head for the whole duration, Jaebum was almost positive that he was going to end up with numerous headaches by the end of it. Maybe this was a fitting punishment for their detention after all? Even if Jaebum did still insist that it wasn't his fault, and that Jackson was completely to blame for everything.

Watching the teacher move around the room, Jaebum couldn't help but chew on his bottom lip, nervously. He hated to admit it but he _did_  care about what role he got. He didn't want anything huge or headlining, but he also didn't want anything _female_. He blocked out Jimin's excited chatter from next to him, as he watched their director move from person to person, handing out badges.

As the older man reached Jackson and his friends, Jaebum narrowed his eyes at them, watching their reactions. All three of them seemed a little stunned. Jackson was scratching at his head in confusion but still seemed happy enough. The blond kid was barely concealing his happiness, and that Junyoong guy was just staring in ill concealed shock at his badge. Did he get a lead role or something? He watched as Jackson and the blond one looked at their friend's badge as well before they let out whoops of delight and thumped him on the back. Yeah... he must have gotten a lead. Well if he was Romeo then who was Juliet?

"Im Jaebum and Park Jimin." Their teacher said once he was stood in front of them, the box of badges in his hands. "I hope you two won't let me down with your roles. They are both _very_  important characters." Why did it seem like he was simply trying to boost their spirits? They must have both just gotten ensemble roles or something. Jaebum mentally shrugged to himself as he took the offered badge. An ensemble role was fine by him, he didn't want anything more than that. Just a nice easy ride through the show, at the back, would suit him nicely.

"Wow, I got Mercutio... A main role..." Jimin chirped up next to him, astonishment seeping through his tone of voice before he turned to Jaebum with a bright grin. "Hyung! I got Mercutio!" He beamed, practically bouncing on the spot as he hurried to pin the badge to his chest. Jaebum simply chuckled, smiling in a mixture of amusement and affection as he watched him. It took the younger a few tries before he managed to successfully lock the pin in place, and once he was done he was back to grinning at him excitedly. "Who did you get, Hyung?"

"Oh, um..." Jaebum started, his fingers suddenly fumbling with his own badge before he looked down at it. The name he saw wasn't what he had been expecting. He couldn't believe his eyes really.

"Well?" Jimin asked, his tone growing impatient.

Jaebum was still in shock, however, and couldn't speak just yet. He definitely hadn't expected to get a role like this. Never in a million years did he expect to get something so... important. He hadn't even tried that hard in his audition, only doing the bare minimum, and yet he had ended up with this? How? It made no sense.

But there, written in a beautiful cursive script was a single name.

Romeo.

He had landed the lead role. But if he was Romeo then... Looking up his eyes fell onto Jackson's friend who had pinned a similar badge to his chest finally, the name Juliet clear. Oh no... The easy ride which he had been hoping for had disappeared by the handing over of a simple badge. Not only was he the lead role but he was going to have to deal with no doubt endless awkward situations as he tried to act with his 'Juliet'.

The badge in his hands was suddenly taken away as Jimin, who had grown incredibly impatient in Jaebum's silence, decided to take matters into his own hands. The older heard a gasp from next to him before the shorter student was shaking him excitedly. "You got Romeo!?! Congratulations Hyung! That's _the_  lead role! You must have knocked your audition out of the park!"

"I didn't even try..." He mumbled, snatching the badge back and reluctantly pinning it in place on his chest. He had no idea how he was going to get through this. He wasn't cut out to play a lead, especially not a romantic one.

"Well you must have done something right for Mr Park to give you that role. Well done, Hyung." Jimin beamed next to him. It was sweet how excited he was on his behalf, but Jaebum wished that he wasn't being so enthusiastic. This was a punishment, a cruel and harsh punishment.

The theatre head clapped his hands loudly again, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "Quiet down, quiet down. I know that it's exciting finally having your roles." He said, throwing a rather cheesy wink in Jaebum's direction. The student just shuddered as he looked away, resisting the strong urge to just pout. "But we need to get to work. However, I know that not all of you are familiar with the piece we will be performing, so... we shall spend the rest of this rehearsal watching the original French version." He said, waving a DVD case vaguely as he spoke. "So everyone, take a spot in the seats down there and let's get watching." He finished, before turning around and sauntering off of the stage, no doubt heading towards the projection box.

Jaebum sighed to himself as he pushed himself to his feet, letting his young eager friend pull him down to the seats. They, thankfully, were sat near the back of the group, and Jaebum slouched down into his seat with a groan. He supposed that watching something for the rest of the time was better than playing the usual 'get to know each other' games. Those were just embarrassing and cringe-worthy, and _so_  not worth Jaebum's time.

As the lights dimmed, Jaebum let out another sigh. This was all Jackson's fault. If it hadn't been for him then Jaebum wouldn't have ended up in this situation. It was so unfair. He didn't want to be in a musical. He didn't want to spend weeks and weeks rehearsing. And he definitely didn't want to be a lead role. But he was... and it was all Jackson's fault.

Glancing over, his eyes fell onto his co-star and he observed him silently in the dark, the light from the screen shining onto his features. He was cute, that was for sure, perhaps even beautiful. That wasn't _so_  bad then, and if he got the other lead role then that meant he was good. The kid was Jackson's friend, which was a big negative, but Jaebum might be able to overlook that... He watched as a soft smile slowly spread across the other's face, something on the screen causing such a reaction. And yeah... maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he had originally thought.

\---

There was something incredibly relaxing about a low buzz of chatter and the gentle clinking of cutlery and crockery. That was why a local cafe a few streets away from the school was the usual hangout for Jaebum and his friends. They were frequent customers, even having a usual table which the rest of the patrons knew not to sit at. They met up there at least once a week, if not more. The current meeting of which taking place on a Saturday, so the cafe was fairly busy.

Jimin wasn't with them, for once, though more because Jaebum had simply forgot to invite him, too focused on his ill fate with the musical. Not that the others seemed to mind, especially not Yoongi. The shorter was sat with a smug grin on his face as his thumbs speedily swiped across the screen of his phone. "It can't be as bad as you're making out, Jaebum. Stop being such a drama queen."

"How can he be a drama _queen_  though if he's playing Romeo?" Namjoon piped up, his deeper voice ringing out clear across their table and the surrounding ones. Not that anybody else in the cafe was paying them any attention, too used to the sight of the group of boys sat at that particular table.

Hoseok laughed from where he sat right next to Jaebum, his elbow flying out to jab into his friend's side gleefully. "Yeah! Wouldn't he be a drama _king_  instead? He's not pretty enough to be a queen."

"Jinyoung is though. Have you seen that kid? I think Mr Park might have been casting you guys on your looks." Yoongi finished, smug grin turned towards Jaebum, who was purposefully trying to avoid looking at the lot of them as he sat with his forehead resting on the table in front of him.

"Shut up." Jaebum grumbled, glaring redundantly down at the table top. "I'm gonna have to act all lovey dovey and stuff with him... He's _Wang's_  friend. How on earth am I meant to act like I'm in love with one of Wang's sidekicks?" He lamented, his voice coming out more like a whine. Hoseok idly patted his head, resulting in Jaebum stirring enough to swat at his hand before he continued his miserable tirade. "This is all that stupid prick's fault. If Wang hadn't pranked me, I wouldn't be in this situation." He paused to let out a sigh, his shoulders dropping before he continued. "At least I get to kill him every night of the performances... he's playing Tybalt after all. I'm so going to make the most of that."

Yoongi, who was sat directly across from Jaebum, let out a rather loud snort, his attention focused once again on his phone as he spoke. "You need to stop blaming that Jackson kid. As annoying as he is, you know that you are just as much to blame. It's your own damn fault for losing your temper."

"I don't know why you're complaining so much, Hyung." Namjoon's voice rose, distracting Jaebum from his musings about how to hit Yoongi without retaliation from the shorter male. "I mean everyone knows that you love to act. And you'll wipe the floor with everyone else dance wise. You're going to kick ass in this show, and you know it."

Finally raising his head from the table, Jaebum gazed at his friend rather blankly before his hand darted out, screwing up one of the paper napkins and launching it at Namjoon's head. "Shut up." He muttered, grunting in satisfaction as his projectile hit it's mark before replacing his head back on the table top again. He wanted to continue sulking, and that was just what he was going to do. Whether his friends were going to laugh at his misfortune or not.

\---

The difficult thing about rehearsing such a large show early on is always the lack of set. They were supposed to be rehearsing the balcony scene after the party, after Romeo and Juliet met for the first time. However... without having the set built yet, it was rather difficult. Jinyoung, who Jaebum was finally remembering the name of, was having to stand up on a box, just to give some sense of the different levels. Not that it was really working. He wasn't exactly going to only be like a foot above Jaebum after all.

They had to work with what they were given though. It wasn't like they really had a choice. They just couldn't rehearse the scene properly with Jaebum climbing up to the balcony and other such things. So instead they were mainly focusing on the lines and portraying the right emotions needed for the scene.

Jinyoung was clearly distracted though. He was glancing at his watch, frequently throughout the rehearsal, which was rather irritating to Jaebum. He was so tempted to speak up and ask the younger if he had something else to do or somewhere else to be since his watch was apparently _more_  important than the scene. But he held his tongue, keeping quiet. He didn't want to make this whole show ten times worse by causing tension between himself and his co-star.

They were in the middle of rehearsing the song, walking through the steps they would need to take once they had the actual set, when the theatre head called for a break. Immediately Jinyoung sprang away from Jaebum, who simply raised an unamused eyebrow at him. Not that the younger saw, as he was already hurrying away, trying to grab the attention of their teacher.

"Mr Park, it's 5:30." He called, jumping down from the stage.

The older male turned around, a look of amazement on his face as he spoke. "Oh, is that time already? Well then... off you go, and we'll see you again at the next rehearsal."

Wait... Jinyoung really _did_  have somewhere else to be? That was... strange, actually. Being involved in such a big production, he should know how important the rehearsals were. And yet he had to bail out of one early? That wasn't right. Talk about special treatment. Jaebum knew that if he had asked to leave early he would have been met with a resounding no. He watched after his co-star's retreating back with a mixture of confusion and annoyance on his face. It really was unfair.

"Hyung, I'll drop by after rehearsal!" The blond kid, Youngjae, who was playing Benvolio, called out to his friend as he was leaving. Jaebum turned to glance over at him, his confusion growing.

He turned to face the other side as Wang's annoying voice screeched out as well. "Save me a flapjack!"

Okay... Jaebum was definitely missing something here? Did everyone know where Jinyoung was running off to, bar him? He looked back to the younger's retreating form, who was just about to slip out of the door, and caught the idle wave he shot back towards the rest of them on stage. Just _where_  was he going?

He didn't have long to mull over it though before Mr Park was calling for their attention again with orders for them to rehearse 'Le Duel' instead, seeing as their Juliet had other commitments he had to attend to. Groaning, Jaebum pushed himself to his feet again to return to the centre of the stage. He had been hoping that with his co-star missing he would get a bit of a break but of course he wasn't so lucky. At least this scene and song involved Jimin and Jackson more than he and Youngjae. And then, most likely, they would continue on with the scene and he would get to practice killing Jackson.

With that gleeful thought in mind, he completely forgot about Jinyoung and his strange behaviour. It wasn't like it really mattered any way. And Jaebum certainly didn't care. Or so he tried to convince himself.

\---

Time continued on and their rehearsals progressed well. They were making vast improvements, and slowly the set around them was beginning to be constructed, making the rehearsals that little bit easier. There was still some issues though, none more hindering than the clear awkwardness between the leads, Romeo and Juliet especially.

How did their 'director' think they were going to be able to just act like love-birds when they had never even had a conversation? Before they had even started this show, he hadn't even know, or remembered, the kids name! And Mr Park was expecting them to just suddenly act like they were in love? Impossible. He may have gotten the lead role, but Jaebum wasn't a miracle worker.

He still tried, though, feeling like the success of the show was lying on his shoulders. This was meant to be a punishment, he had to remember that, and strangely he had started to accept that responsibility. It was a lot more fun than he had initially anticipated after all. And it was giving him something to do in his free time other than lay on his bed and sulk up at his ceiling. So he tried to make it seem like he and Jinyoung weren't as awkward with each other as they were in reality.

Apparently it wasn't enough though.

They were in the middle of rehearsing 'Le Bal' and 'L'amour Heureux' where Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time. They were meant to be portraying the literal sense of love at first sight. It wasn't going well though. They would get about half way through the scene before their teacher would call out for them to stop, giving them minor directions before telling them to continue. But no matter how many times they went over it, the theatre head continued to call out, telling them to stop.

"No, no, no, this just won't do." He sighed, idly stroking at his chin as he stared at the two of them in thought.

Glancing to his side, Jaebum noticed that there was a soft blush on Jinyoung's cheeks. The younger was clearly embarrassed about it. Jaebum was too, he was just better at hiding it, apparently. The soft shade of pink, though, made Jinyoung look even cuter, not that the older allowed himself to dwell on that for too long. It was just a passing thought. Just a _passing_  thought.

"Sorry sir, we'll continue working on it." Jaebum said, bowing his head apologetically before turning to face his co-star with a rather strained smile. "From the top?" He asked him.

Jinyoung didn't get a chance to respond though before Mr Park cut them off. "No. That would be a waste of your time. You two are just too awkward with each other right now. Yes, you are meant to have just met but where is the passion? Where is that gut-wrenching longing? You are meant to fall in love at first sight with each other, but right now it looks like you two love the _floor_  more than you love each other. You need to pick those gazes up from the stage and direct them at each other!"

The criticism... was rather harsh, and it took Jaebum aback a bit, a wince passing over his features before he returned his gaze to the ground. He knew that it was directed at both of them, but he couldn't help but feel like it was a jab at him. He was trying his hardest but it still wasn't good enough. Maybe that was just telling of his whole life... never being good enough.

"Sorry, sir." He heard Jinyoung whisper next to him, no doubt mirroring Jaebum with his head lowered too.

"Oh, stop it you two. You look like two kicked puppies." Their teacher called to them, his voice light-hearted again. "I mean it though, there is no point continuing on with this just yet. So... for the success of the show... you two are to go and spend time with each other, get to know each other, go on a 'date', anything. Just get rid of this awful awkwardness that you two have."

Raising his head quickly, Jaebum all but gaped at the older male, not quite believing that their teacher had just ordered them to go on a date. Was he being serious? He couldn't be right? That was just way too far-fetched a notion and yet he was looking at the two of them rather... expectantly. He hadn't misheard him then... great.

Jaebum didn't even glance to Jinyoung before he spoke up, his voice coming out more resigned than he had wanted it to. "Now?"

"No, not now! We still have scenes to rehearse!" The theatre head laughed, before he sauntered up onto the stage and clapped the two of them on the shoulder. "Tomorrow." He nodded before walking off and over to some of the other cast members who were going over some choreography.

Finally, Jaebum turned to look at his co-star who nervously glanced up at him before returning his gaze to his feet. "So... I guess we have to spend the day together tomorrow then." He started, trying not to feel as awkward as he did. That was a nearly impossible task though.

"Yeah." Came the younger's softer voice. "Um... I know a coffee shop that we could go to... Would that work?"

A coffee shop? Well... it was better than nothing. Lifting his shoulders, Jaebum shrugged, "Sure, just give me the address and I'll meet you there after class." He said, pulling his phone out from his pocket and idly throwing it to the other.

He watched as Jinyoung fumbled with the device for a moment before hurriedly typing on the screen. "Okay, um... I'll see you there then?" He asked, a soft blush on his cheeks as he handed the phone back to Jaebum.

"Sure." He repeated, shrugging offhandedly. The younger gave him what was clearly a mix between a nod and a bow before scurrying off and joining his friends, blush still evident upon his cheeks. Jaebum, himself, dropped down onto the floor by the wall, next to where Jimin was going over his script. He wasn't excited about this supposed date. No, of course not. The jumping in his stomach was because he was hungry. And the thudding of his heart was because... okay, so he didn't have an excuse for that, but it definitely wasn't because he was looking forward to tomorrow, and he certainly wasn't nervous about it either. No, not at all.

\---

Jaebum had to admit that he had been a little naive. He had gone to this _date_  with the assumption that they wouldn't still be completely awkward with each other. But oh how wrong he was... From the minute they had seated themselves after ordering their drinks, they had just sat in silence, awkwardly looking around and occasionally catching each other's eyes.

It was even more awkward than their attempts during rehearsals. But he didn't really understand why? Yeah, they barely knew each other but that didn't mean that they should be so stilted and uneasy in the other's company.

No matter what he tried to think of to do or say, though, Jaebum could just not break the ice. Thankfully the younger finally broke the silence they had fallen into by clearing his throat, his expression a combination of sheepishness and embarrassed. "I guess we had better start getting to know each other. Otherwise Mr Park might order us to go and do something even more embarrassing."

Jaebum couldn't help but laugh gently at this, his head nodding in agreement. "You're right about that. And knowing that old codger it would likely be something inappropriate too. I think he forgets sometimes that we're still just students, and even though we're in our late teens, we're still just that... teenagers."

"At least that's better than him trying to make out that he's 'down the kids'." The other laughed, his eyes disappearing into gentle crescents, which Jaebum did _not_  think was really quite pretty... at all... maybe a little. "I have Mr Yang for English class and all he ever does is try to speak with like prehistoric slang, trying to act all 'hip'... it's embarrassing for both us and him." He finished with a giggle.

That wasn't cute either. Nope, not at all. Nothing about Jinyoung was cute, _nothing_. Though Jaebum was starting to think that maybe he should stop trying to kid himself... his co-star was cute... very cute. And maybe Yoongi had been right at the cafe... maybe Jinyoung was beautiful too.

They fell into silence again, though this one not quite as awkward as before. The ice wasn't completely broken, but there was a few chips in it now at least. Maybe this mission was doable after all? All it would take was them to talk, get to know each other a little better, and for Jaebum to stop being so stubborn and actually be honest with himself.

Jinyoung, once again, broke the silence, though he was back to looking sheepish and apologetic. "Jaebum-hyung, I..." He started before letting out a soft sigh as he dropped his gaze to the table top. "I'm sorry about all of this. I know you didn't want to take part in the show and that the only reason you are is because it's a punishment. Jackson... I tried to get him to stop and leave you alone but he didn't listen to me. He's too hard-headed at times and refuses to listen to me or Youngjae when he's in one of his moods. So... I'm sorry."

Was he seriously apologising for something that wasn't his fault? As sweet as that sentiment was... it was greatly unneeded. It wasn't Jinyoung's fault that Jackson pranked him and he retaliated. It wasn't Jinyoung's fault that he got such a strange detention. It wasn't Jinyoung's fault that Jaebum got a lead role. So why on earth was he apologising?

Lifting his hand, Jaebum waved off the other's apologies, flashing him a quick yet honest smile. "It's okay, don't worry about it. It's not your fault, so no need to apologise. You also don't need to apologise on Jackson's behalf. Yeah, I was angry to start off with but truthfully... it's not that bad a punishment. It could definitely be worse." He chuckled, nodding his head gently.

"Oh... So you're okay with being in the show?"

Jaebum chuckled softly again, his eyes crinkling for a moment as well as he nodded, reassuring his co-star. "Definitely. It's a lot more fun than I originally thought it was going to be."

The smile that the older received in reply from Jinyoung was more than a little breath-taking. Now that he had stopped sulking, he could truly appreciate just how beautiful his co-star actually was. There was no maybe about it now. The boy was stunning. And from what Jaebum had seen so far... he had a personality to match too. He still wanted to get to know him better, though not just for the purpose of the show now, but because Jinyoung intrigued him... He was going to get teased mercilessly by his friends once they found out.

He didn't get a chance to say anything else before another, rather chirpy, voice invaded their little bubble, the barista having completed their order and serving them. "Sorry for the delay, I had to change one of the filters." He explained, his soft voice slightly accented. "I've thrown in a slice of cake for you to share, free of charge."

"Thank you." Jaebum replied, smiling at the newcomer. Free cake was never a bad thing, and it didn't feel like they had been waiting that long for their drinks, not really.

"You're welcome." The barista replied, smiling gently as he hugged the tray to his chest. Jaebum turned, expecting the other to leave but was incredibly confused when the young male turned to his date instead. "Jinyoung-hyung, when you are working next? It's weird to be on shift without you..." He whined, his lips pushing forward into a pout, and wow... that had been entirely unexpected.

What was going on? Did Jinyoung and this young kid know each other? Obviously, by how the barista was acting and the rather affectionate expression on Jinyoung's face. Not for the first time did Jaebum feel completely clueless.

"I don't have a shift today, Bam, but I'll be back in tomorrow." Jinyoung said, smiling up at the young male gently.

Apparently those words were enough to appease him, for _Bam_  grinned brightly before replying. "Great! I'll see you then, Hyung! Bye!" And before Jaebum could even blink, he was gone again, leaving the two of them to their _date_  in peace.

That whole interaction was more than a little strange to Jaebum, and it took him a while for his brain to catch up with events. Once they had... it still didn't all piece together exactly, so looking to Jinyoung he tilted his head to one side in question as he blinked at him. "Um..."

Jinyoung, for what it was worth, did look rather sheepish and apologetic when he returned his gaze to Jaebum. Hopefully that meant that the younger would explain everything. Otherwise he would just continue to remain clueless and in the dark, which would not help with their awkwardness at all. But just as he had hoped, his co-star did begin to explain. "Sorry about that. That's BamBam, he's originally from Thailand, hence the slight accent." He started, indicating to where the young male was working behind the counter again. "His parents own this coffee shop, and... I work here."

Okay, so that explained why the two knew each other but that small explanation just left more questions. "You work here?" He repeated, prompting Jinyoung to nod in confirmation. Okay, so he had heard correctly but... it still didn't make sense. "Why? I thought you were here on scholarship?"

"I am." The younger answered, quick to nod his head again. "But... it doesn't cover my living expenses, only my classes. So I work here to cover what my scholarship doesn't."

The puzzle pieces about Jinyoung were starting to fit together now. Jaebum knew that not all of the scholarships offered covered living expenses too, and if, like the younger had said, he had received one of those then it only made sense that he would get a job as well. This coffee shop was fairly close to the school and received good business, so it was a good place to get such a job. But still... to take on so much on his own...

"Couldn't you ask your parents to cover it?" He asked, wanting to get the whole story locked into his head. He hoped he wasn't upsetting or annoying Jinyoung with all of these questions, he just wanted to know more about him. "I'm not trying to pry, honest, I'm just trying to get everything straight in my head." He continued, flashing the younger a sheepish smile.

His co-star fell quiet for a moment, chewing on his lip before his shoulders dropped as he sighed. "I can't. My family... we're from Jinhae, and my father runs a moderate fishing business. It's not enough to pay for me to study here in Seoul though, and I don't want to drain his earnings by asking him to help pay for my living expenses. I'd rather he kept that money for home. I don't mind having a job as well as school. I mean it's not the best paying but... it more than covers what I need it to, even with Seoul prices."

Jaebum nodded slowly in understanding, another hum echoing from his throat before a rather playful and teasing smile passed over his lips. "So... you chose to come here for our date because..."

The younger bit his bottom lip, his eyes crinkling as he smiled in embarrassment. "Staff discount..."

Well... at least he was being honest, and Jaebum had to commend him for that. "Thought as much." He laughed softly in amusement, and he couldn't stop himself from flashing Jinyoung a wink. He was just teasing, and really... it was okay if that was the reason as to why he had chosen this coffee shop. It was a nice place, and Jaebum certainly didn't mind coming here. Free cake, staff discount... and amazing company. But if this was going to feel like a proper date... "Come on, let's go somewhere else now, somewhere more... fun. My treat?" He offered, his eyes widening in an attempt to persuade the younger. He didn't often try and turn on the charm offensive like this. Mostly because whenever he tried it on his friends they just pushed him away and told him he looked like a constipated dog. But it was worth a shot at least.

Jinyoung seemed to mull over the idea for a moment before he returned Jaebum's smile, nodding his head gently, _both_  of them now hoping for an exciting second part of their date to come. "Okay, let's do it."

No matter how old somebody got, they were never too old to visit an amusement park. It was just an added bonus that Jaebum and Jinyoung were still young, being eighteen and seventeen respectively. They had already had their more serious part of the date, and like the older had said... it was time for a little fun now.

As soon as they had walked through the gates, Jaebum paying for both of their entry tickets, the two had shared matching grins before they had bounded towards the rides. Of course they had started off with the more tame ones, so as to not risk them bringing up their previous hot drinks, and slice of cake, from their stomachs. But as they got closer to the more _hardcore_  rides, the rollercoasters and other such attractions that went really high and really fast, Jinyoung began to look a little anxious.

"I'm... not that great with heights." He admitted, his expression sheepish and incredibly embarrassed.

It just came across as endearing to Jaebum, who cupped his cheek and grinned at him. "Don't worry. You'll be perfectly safe, trust me." He grinned before he took hold of the younger's hand and dragged him towards the next of many queues.

As anxious as his co-star was about the rides, Jaebum had to give it to him... he was still giving every single one a go, even if he did end up closing his eyes and whimpering throughout some of them. Eventually though Jaebum took pity on him and guided him over towards the food stalls instead of any more rides.

"Hungry?" He asked, grinning at Jinyoung once again.

The other blinked at him with a raised eyebrow for a moment before his serious expression melted and he giggled, nodding gently. "Surprisingly, yes... I didn't think I would be after all of those rides, but I don't feel queasy at all."

"That's probably because you had your eyes shut tight throughout most of them." He teased, poking his date in the side and eliciting a squeak of surprise from him followed by another blush. Jinyoung really was incredibly cute, there really was no use denying it any more. And this whole date idea of their teacher's... it was a good idea after all.

Once they had bought their food, which was a rather unhealthy concoction of fast food and other such treats that would be found at an amusement park, they made their way over to a picnic bench, sitting down either side of it so they could face each other. Though it was later in the day now, the weather was still pleasant. The sun was still shining, though not unbearably hot. But, give it another hour or so and the sun would finally begin to set. Jaebum almost didn't want that to happen, because if it did then their date would have to end and he would have to say goodbye to Jinyoung... at least until the next rehearsal anyway.

"This has been really fun." Jinyoung said, yet again breaking the silence that had befallen them. Though the silences were no longer awkward, the older was still thankful that the other knew exactly how to break them.

"Yeah it has." Jaebum smiled, nodding his agreement as he slid a fry into his mouth. "I guess we just needed to try harder, because this really wasn't hard to do at all."

His co-star smiled as well as he hummed gently, nodding again himself before he focused his attention on his 'meal'. As they ate though, Jaebum kept stealing glances at the younger, unease gnawing at his insides. They still weren't completely _there_  with their current relationship and that was his fault really. Jinyoung had explained about himself after all, his situation and what not. But Jaebum hadn't said anything about himself yet, which he needed to rectify. Where to start though?

Eventually he decided that just talking was the answer, just talking and seeing where his words ended up. "When I was a kid, I was big on theatre and performing and stuff." He started, smiling a little when his date turned his attention back onto him. "I just... I loved it, you know? Being on the stage and entertaining people... it felt like it was what I was meant to do. I loved dancing the most though, so I ended up focusing on those skills more than the rest of it."

"You are an amazing dancer," Jinyoung started before blushing in a rather cute flustered way. "I've watched you practice a few times... Not on purpose or anything, um... please continue..."

Jaebum just laughed softly, his eyes crinkling as he teasingly reached over and tugged on the younger's cheek. "So cute." He laughed, pulling back before Jinyoung could swat at his hand. "You already know, then, that hip-hop is my main style. I wanted to be a professional b-boy. Part of me still does but... I have to put my school work and education first now. I have to graduate with decent grades. I promised my sister after all."

Everybody already knew about his sister and what was wrong with her. It had spread around the school from the start, and had become common knowledge about him as he had grown and made his way through the years. Jinyoung, even as a scholarship student who had only been at the school a year or two, would know about it. And the understanding nod he received from the younger was evident of that. It was a relief really, not having to talk about _that_  in detail. Maybe one day he would... but it didn't feel that appropriate right now.

"Anyway, that wasn't the only reason why I gave it up... you know how famous my bad temper is? Well... it was starting to get worse with the competitive nature of dance. I was starting to fly off the handle for no reason and... I didn't like it. Especially when I started to lash out at people. So I stopped and tried to control my temper. I'm not always the best at it, like you've seen, but I'm trying." He continued on, his expression turning sheepish again.

"You're doing really well in rehearsal." Jinyoung's voice interrupted him, not that he really minded. "There have been so many times where it would have been understandable for you to snap at me or Jackson or any of the others, but you haven't. You're doing really well." He smiled, and Jaebum felt a warmth surging through him. He would have been lying if he said that nobody had said such things to him before, they had, but hearing it from Jinyoung actually made him feel like he was doing well. He didn't know when it had happened, but at some point he had started to want to please the other and make him happy.

"Thank you." He smiled, bowing his head in gratitude. "I'm actually really glad that I'm in this show, even if it is meant to be a punishment. I'm learning a lot about myself, and I don't know... maybe I should have returned to performing a lot sooner. It has been a lot more fun than I thought it would be." What he didn't mention was also the fact that by being in this show he had also got to meet Jinyoung properly, and not just as the unnamed friend of Jackson Wang...

Jinyoung, unaware of that, smiled in return at Jaebum and nodded his agreement. "It has been. Even with the extra workload of rehearsals and what not... it's tiring but... I don't regret auditioning at all. It was probably one of the best decisions I've actually made."

"I'm glad you did." Jaebum said, unable to stop the words from slipping from his lips. "I couldn't ask for a better co-star." The blush that appeared on Jinyoung's cheeks was so worth the slip up. What he said was true though. Now that they had been on this date, he realised that there was nobody else he would really want to play the romantic lead across from. And he was confident now that they would work well together. "I'm sorry about, you know, being so _awkward_  with you before this. We really should have just done this sooner."

The younger male, still with the blush on his face, cleared his throat before replying, his gaze shyly flicking up from the food in front of him to meet Jaebum's eyes. "I wanted to... I just didn't know how to approach you about it. I thought you would say no..."

"Stupid." He chuckled, shaking his head in amused affection. "I definitely wouldn't have said no." His smile turned fairly shy, his own cheeks gaining a light dusting of pink, but Jaebum didn't really mind... not with how Jinyoung was apparently feeling the same as he was. They shared a shy smile with each other before the older, feeling a burst of courage, reached across the table and gently took Jinyoung's hand into his own. "We should do this again some time... without prompting from Mr Park."

This wasn't the first time that Jaebum had asked someone on a date. Of course it wasn't. He was eighteen years old after all. But this was the first time he had felt so _nervous_  about it, and he hadn't even voiced the words directly. He feared, for a moment, that Jinyoung would turn him down, which was rather stupid considering what they had just spoken about, but his fears were put at ease by another shy smile and a gentle nod of the other's head. "I'd like that."

\---

The first rehearsal after their date went, as everybody was hoping, a lot better. The two leads were no longer awkward with each other. In fact... they were now incredibly close, sharing smiles and playfully shoving each other when a cut had been called and extra directions were being given out.

The theatre head was trying to get them to rehearse the kiss scene, and though he wasn't having to tell them off for being awkward, he was having to call breaks frequently still. This time with more amusement than anything. Jaebum and Jinyoung would start off fine but the minute they drew in close to each other, one of them would start giggling, which would then set the other off and they were then back to square one.

After one such occurrence, Mr Park called for a break, laughter of his own highlighting his voice as he turned away, shaking his head with a smile on his face. At least they weren't getting in trouble this time, though Jaebum couldn't help but think that now they were just amusing and entertaining everyone else rather than annoy and irritate them.

Looking over to Jinyoung, they shared another shy smile before averting their eyes as they both laughed and giggled again. They didn't get a chance to move, though, before Jackson had appeared and looped his arms around their necks, yanking them down to his, smaller, height.

"Look at you two... You're acting so different with each other! Not that I'm complaining." He grinned, his own boisterous laugh ringing loudly in their ears. "What magic occurred between you two?" He asked. He didn't give either of them a chance to respond though before his grip tightened around their necks and he let out a rather dramatic gasp. "Could it be?" He purposefully looked between them, causing Jaebum to raise an eyebrow at him, before the shorter grinned slyly as he continued. "Could it be... _love_?"

"Shut up." Jaebum laughed, placing his hand on Jackson's face and shoving him away. "Stop being stupid." He added, though Jackson merely cackled again as he pointed at the older's, clearly, blushing face.

"I think the evidence speaks for itself."

Lifting a hand, Jaebum made a move to playfully hit the shorter again, Jackson just ducking away and barrelling off to jump onto the tall fifteen year old who was playing 'Death', Yugyeom, Jaebum thought his name was. Shaking his head though, he turned his attention away from the annoying prankster and looked to Jinyoung just in time to catch a blush on his cheeks too. They shared yet another shy smile before they split ways, moving to opposite sides of the stage ready for the cast to rehearse another scene instead.

\---

If they had been nervous about rehearsing the scene in which they kiss, they were practically wrecks when it came to rehearsing one of the other scenes. It was the scene after which Romeo was banished, when he had gone to see Juliet for the last time and they shared a night together.

Mr Park, thankfully, had arranged it for when it was a rehearsal with only the three of them. That helped a little to dull the nerves and embarrassment, as did the fact that they were both fully clothed still, even underneath a blanket. That would change for the final performance, though, since they would both have to be shirtless and have the sheet carefully covering their lower halves so the audience wouldn't see the shorts they would be wearing.

It was still embarrassing for them however, and though the two of them were trying their hardest, they couldn't help but be awkward. Jaebum knew that, on his part, it was sort of due to the real feelings he was realising he had for the younger. He was suddenly having to be extremely close to him, and be rather intimate, even if certain things they were faking. Currently Jaebum's legs were just to one side of Jinyoung as he hovered his upper body over him, but Mr Park wasn't satisfied. He had called out to them to rearrange the scene a few times but it certainly wasn't working.

"Stop, stop, stop." He called out again, adding a sigh onto the end of his words as the two boys pulled away from each other. "It's still not _natural_  enough."

Natural? He wanted this scene to be natural? This was a school production! There was only so much they could put into this before it ventured way past the boundary lines of what was acceptable or not. Jaebum was starting to fear that the older man had lost his mind.

"What should we do, Mr Park?" Jinyoung asked, his brows furrowed as he glanced nervously at Jaebum. The older reached out to squeeze his shoulder, trying to reassure him though he himself felt just as nervous. Who knew _what_  their teacher would answer with?

He was stood there, looking towards the two of them with one finger tapping against his lips. "Hmm..." He started before nodding, dropping his arm to instead cross in front of his chest. "Okay, Romeo... try actually straddling our Juliet this time. A more natural position might just make this scene work."

The two young actors froze, not quite believing what the theatre head had just asked them to do. He wanted Jaebum to _straddle_  Jinyoung... talk about drawing close to those boundary lines. Glancing sideways at the younger, Jaebum noticed how Jinyoung had turned a rather deep shade of red though he had nodded his agreement. Well... if he was okay with it, then it was worth a go at least.

"Okay sir." He called out in reply himself, watching as Jinyoung laid himself back down before he moved to slide his leg over the younger male, straddling him gently though making sure that their lower halves didn't actually touch. They couldn't be seen down there due to the sheet after all, and as long as it looked convincing then that's all that mattered.

"That's great! Just get yourself lower, Mr Im. This is the act of love, after all... you need to make it look like your bodies are pressed together!" Jaebum wanted to look over at their teacher in disbelief again but he knew it wouldn't change matters any. So instead he followed his instructions and lowered himself down more, only stopping when he heard a pleased cry from the stands. "That's great! Perfect!"

Letting out a sigh of relief, Jaebum closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them again to look down at his co-star. Jinyoung was still a rather startling shade of red, and he looked so unbelievably nervous. "Are you okay? Is _this_  okay?" He asked, ready to move if the younger answered in the negative.

"Yeah." Jinyoung quickly replied, nodding softly too before he flashed Jaebum a small flustered smile. He clearly wasn't, neither was Jaebum himself okay with this... but they didn't really have a choice. They had to do it for the good of the show, and there was no way Mr Park was going to let them get away with doing anything else, they certainly couldn't cut the scene either. So they had to do it... no matter how awkward it might be for the two of them.

\---

Being so busy with rehearsals, Jaebum found himself with less and less time to just hang out with his friends. So the minute there was a rehearsal that they didn't need him there for, he jumped at the chance to meet up with his motley crew at their usual cafe.

"So..." Hoseok spoke up, his mouth full of burger, "How's the show going?"

"Dude, swallow before you speak, seriously." Yoongi piped up, throwing a napkin at the younger's face before he went right on back to ignoring them, his gaze focused back on his phone again. Hoseok sheepishly picked up the napkin and wiped at the spit and crumbs of food he had sprayed the table with, though he did still look to Jaebum for his answer.

Shrugging his shoulders softly, he sipped at his milkshake before responding verbally. "It's actually not as bad as I feared it would be. Mr Park is still completely insane but... when has he ever been anything different? We're all working well together though, it's fun."

He received hums of acknowledgement in reply before their youngest, Namjoon, spoke up, finally pulling his eyes away from the pretty waiter who had served them. "You've not murdered Wang yet then?"

"No." Jaebum laughed, smiling in amusement. "He's actually not so bad once you get to know him. And I don't think Jinyoung would like it very much if I killed one of his friends."

"And why do you care if _Jinyoung_  would like it or not?" Hoseok asked, his elbow flying out to dig into Jaebum's side... again. No matter how many times they asked him not to, the idiot continued to jab them when he teased them, regardless of how bony and sharp his elbows actually were.

He didn't get a chance to actually reply though before Yoongi had placed his phone down onto the table and was smirking across the table at him. "Because our darling Jaebum has a bit of a _thing_  for his co-star. Don't you Jaebum?"

"W-What?" If the stutter hadn't given him away already... the blush that had sprung onto his cheeks definitely confirmed to his friends the truth of Yoongi's words.

"A little birdy has told me that you've gotten quite chummy with the kid... flirting every rehearsal..." The shorter continued, though Jaebum was already working out the many different ways he would kill Jimin once he saw him again. That kid could never keep his mouth shut, and of course Yoongi would use him to keep tabs on Jaebum. Not for anything sinister but because his friend was actually incredibly protective over the rest of them, not that he would ever admit so.

Jaebum tried to think of what to say, his brain momentarily losing the ability to form actual sentences. He knew there was no point denying it. His friends would get the truth out of him eventually, so it would just save time if he was honest with them from the start. "Well... he's not wrong." He eventually replied, continuing to blush gently. "Jinyoung is cute... really cute, and I really like spending time with him."

If asked later, Hoseok would have denied ever squealing happily at what the older had said, but the truth of it was... he had squealed, complete with throwing his arm around his friend's neck and tugging him close. "Our Jaebummie is in love~!" He cooed, reaching up with his free hand to tug on Jaebum's cheek.

"Get off." He laughed, swatting at his friend as he struggled to free himself. "I wouldn't say I was in love, it's too early for that yet. But yes, I do like him. There, happy?" He asked, looking between his friends with an amused raised eyebrow. He just received satisfied grins in reply from Yoongi and Hoseok whilst Namjoon merely glanced at him before returning his attention to the waiter.

"You should ask him out." The tallest mumbled, still taking part in their conversation even despite his obvious distraction. But then... Namjoon was practically a genius, so multi-tasking like this was probably an easy feat for him. Jaebum often wished he knew how his friend managed it.

Not that he ever had chance to ask, for every time he remembered, he was then demanded to reply to something else instead. This time being his friends' prompting of him to ask his co-star out on a date.

"Come on, man. You like him. From what I hear he likes you too. So ask him out." Yoongi said simply, though his usual cunning smile was making another appearance on his face.

"But... I already have... after our forced date by Mr Park. I asked him then. We just... haven't gone on it yet." It was a weak attempt at rescuing himself from the situation and he knew it. Jaebum knew full well that the other's weren't going to let him get away with not asking Jinyoung out on another date. They had sources, after all, who could tell tales and even try to meddle if he didn't do something himself. And no way did he want Jimin or any of the other younger kids to get involved in his love life.

Just like he had expected, Yoongi just rolled his eyes as he continued to push him. "Well then... ask him _again_  and actually go through with it this time."

"Yeah, you don't want to, like, miss this chance and then find him dating some other douche do you?" They were deliberately trying to bait him, and Jaebum knew it, but he couldn't help but grow a little concerned at Hoseok's words. Jinyoung was stunning, with a great personality, and the cutest accent when he let it slip through. He was incredibly attractive and Jaebum knew that he wasn't the only person in the school to think so. There was a high chance that somebody else would go and ask Jinyoung out on a date...

"Okay, I'll do it." He nodded, his eyes practically flaming in determination before he glanced over at the youngest again, a cunning smile of his own appearing on his face. "But... only if Namjoon asks the waiter, he's been eyeing, out on a date too."

This finally managed to draw Namjoon's attention to them properly, him blinking at them a little in shock. Jaebum had hoped that by moving the attention on to the younger that they would all forget about him and Jinyoung. He was still going to ask his co-star out, even if Namjoon didn't go through with his side of this plan. He just didn't want to get the third degree from his friends about it.

Surprisingly, though, the tallest shrugged before standing up. "Fine." He nodded, before he slipped out from the table and calmly approached the waiter, calling out to him to grab his attention. "Hey, Seokjin-hyung..."

Well then... there was no excuse for him not to ask Jinyoung out now too. If Namjoon could do it, then so could Jaebum.

\---

Standing outside of the coffee shop, Jaebum took a deep breath as he glanced through the window. He knew that Jinyoung was working today, there being no rehearsal and Jackson having told him such too. The prankster had been a little confused when he had asked him about his friend's work schedule, but hadn't been wary enough not to tell him the information that he wanted. That was why he had gone to Jackson with his question and not the other member of their trio, Youngjae. The younger blond kid was a lot sharper than Jackson and no doubt would have grilled him before handing over any answers himself.

Of course, if this all turned out well, then everybody was going to know about him and Jinyoung anyway, but right now... the less people who knew, the better. There was always that chance that it wouldn't work out after all. So it was better to be safe than sorry.

After another moment of Jaebum giving himself a mental pep-talk, he entered the coffee shop and approached the counter. It was thankfully quiet, so he would have plenty of time to talk to Jinyoung without leaving a queue of customers waiting to be served. Not that his co-star was working on the counter today. The other kid... BamBam... was the one stood there, handing over a finished drink to a waiting customer.

Finally it was Jaebum's turn, and as he stepped in front of the younger male, a flash of recognition passed over his eyes. "Um... Can I speak to Jinyoung? I... want to ask him something."

The innocent smile that had been on BamBam's face morphed into a sly one as he nodded. "Sure. He's just out back. I'll go get him for you."

"Thank you." Jaebum managed to reply before the barista had darted off into the back. It was only a few seconds before he returned, pushing a spluttering Jinyoung out in front of him. He looked so completely surprised to see Jaebum that the older, for a moment, thought that maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Maybe he should have waited until the end of a rehearsal? Oh well, it was too late now.

"H-Hi..." Jinyoung mumbled, his cheeks suddenly flaming in colour. He looked so cute and adorable like that, clearly flustered but happy to see Jaebum at the same time. And he was happy... he was smiling after all, if a little shyly.

But then Jaebum himself was smiling back at him the exact same way, so he couldn't hold anything against him. It was obvious what he was there to do after all. "Hi." He started before indicating to the side with a tilt of his head. "Can I speak to you for a moment? It's... important."

If it was possible, the blush on his co-star's cheeks intensified as he nodded gently in answer. "Sure. I'm only doing a stock count. I can take a small break." His eyes flicked to BamBam, who was watching them eagerly, waiting for him to nod that it was okay before he moved over to the edge of the shop, Jaebum following after him as he tried to subtly wipe his sweaty palms on his pant legs.

"I..." He started, once they were out of earshot of everyone else in the room, and pausing to take a breath. "I was just wondering if you, maybe, wanted to do something together again... like... another date?" He asked, his lips quirking up into an awkward embarrassed smile. "But this time, as a proper one... because... I really do like you, Jinyoung, more than a co-star should. You're beautiful, and amazing, and you have an amazing sense of humour. I took way too long to get to know you properly and I really regret that. But I enjoy spending time with you and I really like you, and I should probably shut up now and let you answer right?" Jaebum mentally scolded himself. He had let his nerves get the better of him and he had just rambled, making a complete fool of himself.

Thankfully Jinyoung was still stood before him, smiling at him rather tenderly. Well, that was a good sign. Not that Jaebum had really doubted too much, seeing as they had agreed to hang out again before. But this time he was actually doing something about it. "When you said about it last time, I didn't think you meant as a proper date... I thought you just meant as friends or something..." The younger started, his graze dropping shyly down to his feet for a moment. "But... I'm glad that you do mean it as a date. I feel the same way about you so... Yes, I'll go on another date with you, Jaebum."

Those words... were exactly what the older wanted to hear. Maybe not the first part, since that pretty much indicated that the younger hadn't believed him the first time. But the last part was definitely music to his ears. Jinyoung felt the same about him... "Great! I'll pick you up once you finish work then." Jaebum beamed at him, happiness practically exuding from him. He couldn't stop himself from darting forward and pressing his lips firmly to Jinyoung's for a moment, stealing a quick kiss. He didn't let it last long though before he pulled away, a cheeky smile now on his face. "See you later."

Without even waiting for a response, Jaebum turned and swiftly exited the coffee shop, purposefully ignoring BamBam who was shooting him a thumbs up. He had a date to prepare for now, and it had to be _perfect_. Jinyoung deserved perfect.

\---

The next time rehearsal rolled around, Jaebum and Jinyoung walked through the doors together, hand in hand. Their date had gone well, really well, and they had actually ended up meeting every day over the weekend, once the younger had finished his shift at work. They hadn't been able to spend much time together during school hours, since they were in different grades and classes, but once classes had finished for the day, they had met up so they could go to rehearsal together.

Jaebum didn't think he could be happier. He was now dating Jinyoung, allowing his feelings to develop freely while the two of them grew even closer. And by the seems of it, his co-star, and now boyfriend, was just as happy as he was; If the pleased blush that had appeared on his face when they walked into the hall to a chorus of wolf whistles was any indication.

Glancing over to the younger, Jaebum shared a smile with him, squeezing his hand gently before there was a loud thumping commotion from behind them and they were suddenly pulled down by arms around their necks. "I totally called this!" Jackson crowed from in between them, his grip on them firm. "Didn't I call this? I so totally called this."

"Shut up, Jackson." Jinyoung grumbled, releasing his hold on Jaebum's hand in favour of trying to tug his friend's arm away from him.

The prankster wasn't listening though, apparently, for he turned to Jaebum with a rather sly smirk on his face. "Now... Im, you better not hurt Jinyounggie here, because if you do..." He warned, unhooking his arm from around Jinyoung's neck to playfully draw a line across Jaebum's neck.

Truthfully Jaebum had been expecting to hear such things from his boyfriend's friends. They were protective of him, just like how his own friends were protective of himself. However it sounded sort of redundant coming from Jackson, which was evident when Jinyoung punched the shorter in the shoulder with an embarrassed blush on his cheeks. "Shut up."

A laugh echoed from their side, and Jaebum turned to see Youngjae, the last member of the trio joining them. "Everyone knows that Jinyoung-hyung can take care of himself." He said, shaking his head in amusement at Jackson. "He's stronger than _you_ , so I don't think we have to worry about him."

The offended look on Jackson's face caused the small group of them to all laugh at his expense, not that the prankster really seemed to mind. He quickly bounced back, grabbing Youngjae into a headlock and ruffling his hair.

A loud clap from the stage quieted them down, though, and they looked over to see the theatre head grinning at them. "Okay, enough now boys. We still have work to do. We can congratulate the new couple later." He said, encouraging Jackson to release Youngjae and return to the stage, grabbing Jinyoung as he did so and tugging him after him.

Jaebum just watched them go with an affectionate smile on his face. A smile that Youngjae didn't miss. "His feelings for you are legitimate, by the way. And though I'm almost certain that yours are too... please don't hurt him."

"I won't." He answered simply, gifting Youngjae with a gentle smile to which the younger simply nodded before following after his friends and heading towards the stage. Jaebum bit his lip, trying to hide his giddy smile before he too followed the rest of them, joining the small forming crowd. Of course as soon as he reached them all, he immediately slid behind Jinyoung, wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him back to rest against his chest, Jaebum's chin settling comfortably on his boyfriend's shoulder. He couldn't help himself, he just wanted to be with the younger at all times now, and was happiest when they were physically touching or cuddling like this.

They listened to their teacher, giving out the orders for the rehearsal, him wanting to focus on one of the first numbers 'La Haine' which mainly involved the ensemble and the two 'mothers'. That was fine by Jaebum. That meant he had more time to just sit with Jinyoung in his arms.

As they made their way to the side of the stage, ready to go sit down in the seats until they were called, a soft voice caused them both to pause. "Um... Jaebum-hyung, Jinyoung-hyung..." It started, the two cast members turning to see one of their youngest cast members, Yugyeom, smiling shyly at them. "I just wanted to say... that I think you guys make an amazing couple, and that I'm so happy that two of my favourite hyungs have gotten together."

Was this kid for real? Was he really this adorable? Jaebum was finding it hard not to just jump on the younger and squeeze his cheeks with how cute he was being. Jinyoung's hand still in his was what stopped him though, and his boyfriend seemed to take the lead for a moment. "Thank you, Yugyeom. That means a lot to us."

Yugyeom bowed his head sheepishly before his expression turned apologetic for a moment. "I also want to say that... I'm sorry..."

"For what?" Jaebum asked, completely confused as to why the younger was apologising. He hadn't done anything wrong, not as far as he knew anyway. So why?

"For... for making you two die during the musical."

Of course... Yugyeom played Death, a silent character who played with all of the other characters and took Romeo and Juliet's lives. It was so beyond adorable and sweet for Yugyeom to be apologising for something that his _character_  did to theirs' during the show they were in.

Jaebum couldn't help but laugh softly, Jinyoung's own giggles complimenting the sound as they both smiled at the younger. "It's okay, don't worry about it." Jaebum said.

"It's only a show after all. You're not really breaking me and Jaebum up."

The soothing words from his boyfriend seemed to do the trick for Yugyeom was soon smiling at them again, bowing his head in gratitude. "Okay." He said before he indicated towards the stage with his head. "I better go rehearse... I'm needed for this scene."

Jaebum nodded towards the younger in acceptance before watching him scurry off towards where the rest of the needed cast was beginning to get into position for the song to start. That whole interaction just felt precious to Jaebum, and it made him feel even more that getting into trouble and taking part in the show was definitely worth it. Not only had he met someone as amazing and perfect as Jinyoung, who he was now dating, but he had also met many other people who would become firm friends of his, like Yugyeom.

He was definitely going to have to thank Jackson for this... _later_.

\---

With the final performance dates and opening night drawing closer, rehearsals for the cast intensified. They became more frequent, lasting longer, and they were beginning to rehearse in costume, with props, on the proper set. The orchestra that would play the music for them had begun to attend their rehearsals now too, so they were no longer singing to a plain soundtrack but to actual instruments.

It was great, Jaebum found himself singing harder and putting more into his performance now that the pressure was on. He was really living by the phrase 'perform every time like it's the last performance', and it was working well for him. He hadn't realised how much he had missed performing on stage, not until he was involved in this production. He was thriving under the pressure, every rehearsal filling him with adrenaline. He felt like he was on top of the world.

His relationship with Jinyoung was going well too. They were spending a lot of time together, much to all of their friend's amusement. When they weren't in class, they were practically glued to each other's sides, and that was just how Jaebum liked it. Having his boyfriend close enough where he could watch over him and make sure he was always okay, made the older feel calm. He didn't like not knowing where the other was, so spending so much time together was ideal for him.

However, by doing so, Jaebum began to notice just how many people spoke to his co-star... in a more friendly way than he was comfortable with. When had Jinyoung become so _popular_? And though he knew that the younger attracted a lot of people, he had never realised just how many. There seemed to be a never ending stream of people who were after Jinyoung's attention. And if he was being honest... Jaebum didn't like that... at all.

Every time he saw somebody speaking to _his_  Jinyoung, his temper would flare and he would glare daggers across to whoever the culprit was. And if he wasn't occupied with a task himself then he would waltz over and possessively wrap his arm around the other boy's shoulders, staking his claim and showing that Jinyoung was already taken so the other should just back off. He couldn't help it. He liked, no, _loved_  Jinyoung so much that the thought of losing him to someone else struck fear into his heart. He couldn't lose him. So he had to make sure that everybody knew he was taken.

Even when Jinyoung was just hanging out with Jackson and Youngjae, Jaebum would grow moody. He would sulk silently, throwing frequent glances over to the younger. He wouldn't stop until Jinyoung sighed, gave his apologies and returned to his side. Only then would he be happy again, pulling his boyfriend close and burying his face into his shoulder. He never missed how tense and annoyed Jinyoung was each time, but he never commented on it either. In his opinion it was okay for him to be selfish like this from time to time, and if his boyfriend really had a problem with it, he would say something.

Jaebum didn't even acknowledge that anything was wrong when he began to snap at his _own_  friends. He didn't hesitate to introduce Jinyoung to Yoongi, Hoseok and Namjoon, them being his closest friends. It was only fair for him to meet them since Jaebum was on good solid speaking terms with Jackson and Youngjae. It didn't take long, though, for him to be scowling at them as they tried to flirt with his boyfriend. So what if Namjoon was technically taken? He shouldn't be acting so friendly with somebody _else's_  boyfriend. He was still a threat. Yoongi and Hoseok even more so. Everybody was a threat, and Jaebum couldn't help but become possessive.

Eventually his friends had stopped prodding him to hang out with them, not wanting to deal with his ridiculous temper and childish behaviour whenever any of them so much as looked at Jinyoung. They had left Jaebum to it, with Yoongi's departing words of "Call us when you grow up from this toddler clinging to his favourite toy."

He wasn't that bad was he? He was just being protective over his boyfriend, which was normal. There was nothing wrong with his behaviour. So everybody just needed to get off of his back.

Jaebum couldn't help but begin to pay even more attention to himself and to Jinyoung after that though. He wanted to make sure that all of their comments were completely unfounded. But by doing so, he noticed the more quiet and silent pursuers of his boyfriend. He hadn't realised that Jinyoung was so close to the head of the orchestra, a Gong Chanshik who often offered tutoring services to the younger students. Jaebum knew him, fairly well actually. They shared many classes together, and he had believed the slightly older student to be a decent respectable guy. But seeing him laughing and joking with Jinyoung caused him to rethink his initial assumptions about the conductor. He didn't do anything though, simply seething on the sidelines as he watched them.

Relief flooded through him when Mr Park called for them to begin rehearsal, and he watched as Chanshik left Jinyoung to return to the orchestra pit. Then did Jaebum walk over to his boyfriend and squeeze his shoulder. It was more to reassure himself that Jinyoung was still _his_. But he did receive a gentle smile in reply, though, which helped to ease his upset. However... it didn't last long.

Mr Park wanted them to rehearse the start of the ball scene, before Romeo and his friends gatecrashed the party, the scene where Juliet and Paris talk. Another kid from a few of his classes was playing Paris, Mark Tuan he remembered his name being. He was older than Jaebum, which was why he didn't immediately storm onto the stage the first moment that the other placed his hand on his boyfriend's cheek. It was for the play, he knew that, but it still upset him to watch. That was _his_  boyfriend the older boy had his grubby mitts all over.

And it just continued on, the older boy's touches getting more and more daring as the scene continued. He was really pushing it, in Jaebum's opinion, and he had every right to go up to the American exchange student and punch him square in the face. As dramatic as he was though, he didn't want to cause a scene in the middle of rehearsal. Or, not something that would warrant him gaining another detention anyway.

When their teacher finally called an end to the scene, turning his focus onto something else, Jaebum wasted no time in storming over to the two, and ripping Mark's hands away from Jinyoung. He glared angrily at the older male as he spoke, his voice seething in warning. "Scene's finished."

Mark simply laughed in amusement as he held his hands up innocently. "Calm down, man. It was just acting. I know that Jinyoung is your boyfriend. No need to get so defensive."

"I'm not getting defensive." He replied, his eyes narrowing even more in his anger.

"Sure. Whatever." Mark snorted, rolling his eyes before he turned his attention back to Jinyoung. "Hey, let me know when you're free next. My Dad sent me a load of DVDs if you want to work on your English listening skills." He must have received some sort of silent response, for he nodded before turning and walking over to the side of the stage, rummaging in a bag for a bottle of water. Jaebum had missed whatever response it had been since he had been so focused on the older student.

When he turned though, he expected to see Jinyoung smiling at him in his usual gentle way. But what he actually saw was a very angry, obviously fuming, Jinyoung. Jaebum hadn't really seen his boyfriend angry or upset, only when he had been acting out scenes for the play. Those were just fake, but this? This was real emotion, and the older boy didn't understand why his boyfriend was apparently angry at him. "What?"

Jinyoung's expression just darkened as he stepped away from Jaebum, putting unneeded space between them. "You and me need to have a little talk, Jaebum. You are being ridiculous."

"He had his hands all over you!"

"We were rehearsing a scene!" The younger replied, before closing his eyes and sighing in clear frustration. "Look... We'll talk later, okay? We've got more scenes to rehearse."

"Fine." Jaebum snapped in reply, his own temper flaring. What was Jinyoung so angry about? Seriously... _He_  was the one that was spending a little too much time with others. English movies with Mark? Was he for real? Jaebum turned around, stalking down to the seats and flopping down into one with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

The rest of the rehearsal Jaebum spent sulking, glaring at anybody who dared approach his boyfriend. Jinyoung shot angry glances of his own over to the older, though they were more filled with hopeless frustration than actual anger. Jaebum had seen every single glance, and they managed to calm him down at least a little. They calmed him down enough for him to actually concentrate on the scenes he was asked to rehearse. Which was good, because whether they were angry with each other or not... they were still in a show with the opening night drawing increasingly closer. They couldn't let their personal life interfere with that.

Finally, Mr Park announced that they had finished for the day, and everybody began to pack up, grabbing their bags and departing through the doors. Jaebum lingered, though, waiting for Jinyoung. It was something he would have done anyway even if they weren't fighting with plans to 'talk' about whatever the problem was. He still didn't understand _why_  Jinyoung was so upset with him. He was the one who should be upset and he was. His boyfriend was the one going off and flirting with other people, not him.

Thankfully he didn't have to wait long, before the younger male curled his hand around his arm and dragged him over to the side of the room. With everybody else gone, they had the privacy to talk about this, just the two of them. Jaebum was rather relieved about that for he knew he had a tendency to raise his voice when he was angry or upset.

Jinyoung turned to him, a tired sigh falling from his lips before he spoke. "Okay... What's going on, Jaebum? Why are you being like this?"

The question was only a simple one, but it was enough to ignite Jaebum's temper again, who scowled as he practically glowered at the younger male. "As if you don't know." He snorted. "I would have thought it was obvious."

"You're not making any sense."

"I don't like seeing other guys flirting with _my_  boyfriend, and said boyfriend flirting right back!" Already his voice was raised but he couldn't help it. He was upset and he had every right to be in his opinion.

Jinyoung, however, seemed to disagree as frustration shone on his face. "What are you talking about? What flirting?" Of course he would try to deny it...

Lifting his hand, Jaebum began to reel off names as he held his fingers up, one at a time. "Mark, Gongchan, Jackson, Youngjae, Namjoon, Yoongi, Hoseok... do I need to continue?"

"Are you being serious, right now?" The younger asked, disbelief in his voice. "I have not and never have flirted with any of them!"

"I saw you! I was there!"

It was new to see his usually calm boyfriend, growing angry. His voice was rising to meet the same levels as his own, his accent peeking through with his words, and it was strange. "If you seriously believe that I was flirting with all of them then you are being stupid, Im Jaebum. Jackson and Youngjae are my friends. Namjoon, Yoongi and Hoseok are _your_  friends. Mark is a member of the cast! Gongchan is an old tutor of mine! I am a big boy, Jaebum, I can talk to who I want and hang out with them when I want. I can _be_  only friends with them. Just because I'm talking to them, it doesn't mean that I'm flirting!"

"But-" Jaebum started before he was immediately cut off by the younger's raised voice.

"I'm not finished!" His chest was heaving as he spat out every word. "If anybody did flirt with me, Hyung, I would turn them down. Why? Because I'm with _you_. Because I'm dating _you_. Because I'm in love with _you_. I don't want to _be_  with anyone else!"

"Well how was I supposed to know that!?!" Jaebum responded, practically yelling out the words as he narrowed his eyes angrily at his boyfriend. "You don't exactly make it obvious how you feel about me. How am I supposed to know that you love me?"

The older could have winced after those words left his mouth. He knew how much saying that would hurt Jinyoung. But it was too late now. The words were out there, he couldn't take them back. He could apologise, yes, but he was still too angry to do such a thing. He would do so later... maybe. But right now, in his frustration, there was no way he was going to apologise for anything.

Jinyoung fell silent, his face a careful mask of indifference though his eyes shone clearly with his shock and upset. He didn't let Jaebum see for long, before the younger turned around so his back was to him instead. Just before he had done so, the older had caught a brief glimpse of his boyfriend's beautiful eyes filling with tears. That alone calmed him down slightly, but not enough to dispel his anger and upset completely. It just made him feel guilty for verbally lashing out.

"Maybe..." Jinyoung's voice sounded, rather thick and barely restrained, "Maybe we should take a break... give each other some space. I think we both need it."

Jaebum couldn't stop the irritated scoff from falling from his lips and he rolled his eyes before throwing his hands in the air. "Fine, whatever." He hissed before turning and stalking off, out of the auditorium.

They hadn't broken up... they were just taking a break. All couples went through this. Or that was what Jaebum was trying to reassure himself with. They hadn't broken up... right?

\---

The break turned out to last much longer than only a week. The two of them barely spoke to each other when in the same vicinity, and when they weren't needed to be anywhere near each other, then they tried to avoid the other's presence at all costs.

Initially, for Jaebum, it had been because he was still angry with the other, still upset over Jinyoung's supposed flirting with others. But eventually the anger burned away, and he was just left with an unyielding feeling of pure guilt. He knew that he should have spoken to Jinyoung about his jealousy before it had festered to the point where they blew up at each other. He knew that after he had said such accusing things to the younger that he should have apologised.

Jaebum had a terrible habit of lashing out at those people who meant the most to him. He had done it to all of his family. He had done it to his friends. And now he was doing it to his boyfriend too. He always managed to hurt the ones he loved, and he hated that about himself.

He wouldn't blame Jinyoung if the younger didn't want anything more to do with him. He didn't deserve to be treated in such a way that Jaebum was treating him. He deserved so much more than that. And Jaebum didn't deserve someone as beautiful and amazing as Jinyoung.

He couldn't approach him and sort this all out, though. He felt too guilty to even look at the younger's face during rehearsal, so no way could he face him and apologise for his biggest failings as a person. There was also the matter of his pride. Even though he knew that this was all his fault, he couldn't bring himself to admit that to anyone or take the blame for it. He couldn't. He was too prideful to do so. But the biggest reason as to why he couldn't apologise to Jinyoung was because he was scared. He was scared that this was all going to result in the younger leaving him... that he would lose Jinyoung for good. So it was safer to just continue hiding from the problem, even if it did hurt him by doing so. This pain, he could deal with, but if his boyfriend did leave and break up with him for good... he didn't think he'd be able to handle that pain.

His friends worried about him, with how quiet and withdrawn he had become, they had immediately known that something had happened. And even though they had been initially angry at him for how he had treated them because of Jinyoung... they didn't hold it against him. In fact as soon as they saw him struggling, they had all come right back to him and helped to support him. Though not without the reoccurring words of 'You should talk to him'. That was easy for them to say... they weren't facing possible permanent heartbreak.

They weren't the only ones to throw him constant concerned glances. Even the rest of the cast did so as well. Though their glances and words seemed to be split equally between him and Jinyoung. The tension between them was thick, and not even the youngest of cast members missed it. Yugyeom, especially, looking incredibly worried.

Opening night rolled around, a lot faster than any of them had anticipated, and Jaebum and Jinyoung still were not speaking to each other. It was tearing Jaebum apart if he was being honest about it. Not having Jinyoung there by his side, not being able to hold his hand, pull him into his arms, share a kiss... not even being able to share a smile with him... it was practically killing him, and he couldn't stop himself from occasionally glancing longingly at his co-star.

He was doing just that, gazing after Jinyoung who had just disappeared into his dressing room to finish getting into his first costume. Jaebum was already dressed in his completely blue outfit, his hands idly brushing against his thighs as he just stared at the now closed door. He just wanted to go over there and pull his boyfriend close, but he couldn't. He just couldn't do it.

Suddenly a hand curled around his arm and he was yanked over to the side and into a quiet nook. "Look." Youngjae said, once the older had gotten his bearings back. "You need to speak to Jinyoung. You are both being so incredibly stupid right now, walking around like kicked puppies... You are both pining for each other and it's rather gross actually." He said, letting out a sigh. "You both clearly still love each other and miss each other... so why don't you two just make up already?"

Jaebum opened his mouth, about to respond with his usual answer of 'That's easier said than done.' but Youngjae cut him off before a sound could even leave his throat. "I know what you're going to say, Hyung, and quite frankly... that's a load of rubbish. Isn't Jinyoung-hyung worth more than your measly pride?"

That simple question struck the older hard and he blinked at the blonde kid in shock for a moment as realisation finally hit him. He was putting himself and his pride before Jinyoung. How stupid was that? His boyfriend was worth way more than his own pride. He loved Jinyoung, and the younger loved him. So why were they still acting like this? Jaebum still didn't want to admit it though. "I-I..." He started, before trailing off, the words dying on his tongue as his throat closed up.

Youngjae just sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it softly. "Look... Just... When you perform the crypt scene later, picture Jinyoung-hyung as actually being dead. See how you feel then. It might just help you to realise a few things." He said, nodding gently and offering a small smile before he walked off, heading towards the dressing rooms and leaving Jaebum stood in the shadows with his own thoughts.

Jaebum had managed to shake himself out of his stupor and had then thrown himself into the show. And it was running smoothly. Everything was working correctly, they were all hitting their notes, and the musical was being pulled off without a hitch. Soon enough, it was the scene that Youngjae had told him to pay attention to, the scene in the crypt. He hurried onto the stage and over to where Jinyoung was laid, incredibly still.

When rehearsing this scene, he hadn't really focused on how the younger boy had looked, instead more focusing on the emotions he was trying to portray. But walking out onto the stage and seeing Jinyoung led there, pale as a sheet... unmoving... it caused Jaebum to pause in shock. Now that he was actually paying attention... Jinyoung looked _dead_.

He knew that the other was actually fine, that he was just acting, that this was just a show that they were performing. But his boyfriend looked so realistically dead, that it shook Jaebum. It shook him to the core. He felt his heart breaking in his chest and it took all of his strength to continue on with the scene. He managed it... though he knew that this was the most emotional performance he had ever given. He hadn't cried during the rehearsals after all, but here he was... singing his heart out with tears sliding down his cheeks.

Jaebum felt as Yugyeom approached him from behind and he gripped the 'potion' bottle that was slid into his hand. Looking up at the audience, he uncorked the bottle and finished off the scene as he 'drank' the 'poison', acting out Romeo's final breaths before stilling next to his boyfriend.

There was only a few beats before Jinyoung stirred and Jaebum had to keep himself as still as possible, remaining unresponsive to the other's actions and cries. It was hard. A lot harder than it had been during rehearsal. The emotion in his boyfriend's voice made the older want to just sit up, pull Jinyoung close and beg for his forgiveness. He couldn't though. He couldn't even react to the younger crying. He had to just lay there.

It was practically torture waiting for the show to finish, but when it did they were gifted with a standing ovation. The cheers that they received, when taking their bows, was almost overwhelming, and Jaebum couldn't help but grin out at the audience as he and Jinyoung took their own bows. Throughout the whole time, he gripped onto the younger's hand tightly, unwilling and almost afraid to let him go.

He ever so softly gave the younger's hand a squeeze, wanting to reconnect with his boyfriend and silently make the first of many apologies. He held his breath, in anticipation and a little in fear, before he felt the squeeze being returned and he turned to look at Jinyoung with a hopeful glint in his eyes. The younger was looking back at him, with that beautiful smile Jaebum loved so much on his face, and tender acceptance in his eyes. But more importantly... there was forgiveness.

Finally, Jaebum could relax. Everything was going to be okay now, he just knew it. And though they would likely still have a bumpy road ahead of them... They could work through it.

Though it had taken Jaebum a while to realise and push his pride aside, he now knew what he wanted. He wanted Jinyoung. He wanted a future with Jinyoung. And he would do whatever it took to make this work between them. After all... Not every tale of Romeo and Juliet had to end in tragedy.


End file.
